Iglesia Descalza

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Pope Francis has created a commission, formed by six men and six women and presided by the Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Spanish archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, to study the female diaconate in the Catholic Church. Four continents have been excluded from the commission -- Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. There are 12 European members and one woman from the United States.

My opinion is that it is a commission as unnecessary as it is ineffective. Unnecessary because the study has already been done by exegetes, men and women theologians, and historians of Christianity. The conclusions have broad consensus among the researchers: Jesus of Nazareth formed a counter-hegemonic egalitarian movement of men and women who accompanied him along the roads of Galilee, sharing his itinerant lifestyle and assuming responsibilities with no discrimination whatsoever.

In the first centuries of Christianity there were women priests, deacons and bishops who exercised ministerial functions and leadership tasks until the Church became hierarchical, clericalized, and patriarchal and they were reduced to silence. Theologian Karen Torjesen's book, When Women Were Priests (HarperCollins, 1995) demonstrates it with all kinds of arguments -- archaeological, historical, theological, hermeneutical. The commission seems ineffective to me if the will is lacking to incorporate women into leadership roles, into direct access to the sacred without patriarchal mediation, and into the elaboration of doctrine and morals. And that will is lacking today. I am referring to the facts. In his encyclical, Inter Insigniores, Pope Paul VI shut and bolted the door to women's access to priestly ministry, alleging that Jesus Christ only ordained men.

His successors have repeated this very fallacious argument like a mantra. John Paul II, advised by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, radicalized that closure by stating that the matter was settled definitively. Benedict XVI, knowledgeable as the theologian he was, about the existence of women deacons, priests and bishops in early Christianity, showed himself equally obstinate and followed the same path of obstruction to the priesthood of women. Pope Francis has ratified it again by citing John Paul II's forceful exclusionary statement.

SUBMISSION AND HUMILIATION

I am against the female diaconate because, if it is put in place institutionally, women would continue to be subordinate and at the service of the priests and bishops, not of the Christian community. I think it's time to move from the subordination of women to equality, from their submission to empowerment, from their dependency status to autonomy, from being decorative objects to active players. And that is not what is achieved with the female diaconate, but the opposite -- women's status as minors continues under the illusion that an important step forward is being taken and that they are being given prominence, when what is being done is perpetuating their state of humiliation and servitude. For a real change in the inferior status of women to occur, they need to be recognized as religious, ecclesial, ethical and theological players, which isn't happening now.

For that to happen it is necessary to look to the past, certainly, but not with the yearning to uncritically reproduce tradition, but rather with the aim to creatively recover the role that women played in Jesus' movement and in the early centuries of the Church. But, above all, we must look to the present and future to implement within the Church the principle of gender equality and non-discrimination that rules, however imperfectly, in society. One man, one woman, one vote; one Christian man, one Christian woman, one vote. All are equal through the common dignity that we men and women have, and that makes Christian men and women equal through baptism.

Any gender discrimination is contrary to human rights and the principle of brotherhood-sisterhood that should rule in the faiths. Without equality, the Church will continue to be one of the last -- if not the last -- bastions of patriarchy remaining in the world. In other words, it will remain a perfect patriarchy. And for that, it will not be able to appeal to Jesus of Nazareth, its founder, but to religious patriarchy, based on sacred masculinity, which appeals to the manly character of God to make man the only representative and spokesman of the Divine. As the feminist philosopher Mary Daly states,"If God is male, then the male is God." Pure patriarchy!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

From September 8th to 11th, 2016, we held the 36th Theology Congress which brought together people and groups from different continents, peoples, cultures, and religions to reflect on the subject "Migrants, refugees, and borders: From exclusion to hospitality." Social activists involved in the refugee camps and border areas participated in it, bringing their experiences. Representatives of oppressed and neglected peoples joined us. We had specialists in international relations, migratory processes, human trafficking, gender theory, as well as men and women theologians who gave critical analyses of the situation and offered liberating interpretations of the religious texts.

1. In the world, there are 200 million migrants, 60 million displaced persons -- 2 million of them refugees and 40 million internally displaced, and 4 million victims of trafficking. The most vulnerable people are the boys, girls, women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, intersex persons, submitted to all sorts of indignities: sexual harassment, physical assaults, human trafficking, organ trafficking, forced labor, prostitution, gender violence. They are nameless and faceless people without any recognized identity. They experience social, political, moral and legal solitude. They are denied dignity and the right to life, as is demonstrated by the thousands of people who have died in the legitimate attempt to cross borders.

2. In Pope Francis' words, these people are considered "surplus population," product of the "throw-away culture" that makes us incapable of feeling compassion before the cries of others. They are victims of a system based on the Money God, of perverse capitalism, and Mafia-like capital accumulation. Those who benefit from this situation are a political, economic, patriarchal, colonial, racist and anti-environmental elite who set in motion three big businesses: security, the political economy of migration, and the management of people in movement.

3. Despite the discrimination they suffer, immigrant, refugee and displaced women have shown a great capacity for resistance, resilience, and empowerment.

4. The welcoming countries are mostly the countries of the south, while most of those in the north have closed and bolted their doors. They protect their borders with fences, concertina wire, police and military force, denying the right to asylum. They follow mistaken security policies, do not comply with international protocols and their own commitments, and don't demonstrate the will to be welcoming.

5. The lack of solidarity of the Northern governments contrasts with the solidarity shown by an important part of society that is adopting attitudes of hospitality, and with the work of the social movements, non-governmental organizations, and cooperating individuals, who are working together in the refugee camps and on the borders.

6. Pope Francis is adopting exemplary attitudes of accompaniment and welcome, at the same time as he is denouncing the hypocrisy of the European rulers and economic and financial powers. Addressing them during his visit to Lampedusa, he uttered the word "shame." He told the European parliamentarians that it was intolerable that the Mediterranean was becoming a vast cemetery and that those who arrive daily on our shores are being denied welcome, often dying in the attempt in the barges. To act this way is to deny their dignity and favor slave labor.

7. The pope's hospitable attitude contrasts with the insensitivity of an important sector of the Spanish Catholic hierarchy towards the tragedy of migrants and refugees, whose problems seem to be alien to them and not a priority on their pastoral agenda. In addition to insensitivity, there are bishops who, acting under a misuse of freedom of expression, adopt racist, xenophobic, exclusionary and inhospitable attitudes when they irresponsibly warn of the refugee "invasion", question whether all people who cross the border are "squeaky clean" and state that few are coming to Europe because they are being persecuted. One even said that the arrival of the refugees is the Trojan Horse of European societies and, specifically, the Spanish one, and that welcoming refugees could look very good, but "you have to know what's behind it."

These statements are made from legal impunity and the enjoyment of all kinds of privileges from the state -- educational, social, fiscal, economic, financial. Privileges that distance them from the Gospel as the liberating message of Jesus of Nazareth.

8. We want to energetically denounce such declarations that show a total absence of mercy and a lack of sense of hospitality. They are far from the hospitable message of the Bible which asks us to love migrants, not abuse or oppress them "because you were migrants in the land of Egypt" (Ex. 22:21) and they are contrary to the welcoming practice of Jesus of Nazareth, himself persecuted, migrant, and identified with migrants (Mt. 25:31-45).

9. In the name of the God of Life and Peace we condemn terrorism, in this case the terrorism that claims to be based on religious motives and kills in the name of God, causing the exodus of entire populations to flee the terror.

10. We demand that the Nations:

comply with international protocols in the matter of immigration, refuge, and displacement;

open safe routes that keep people from falling into the nets of the mafias;

not participate in the business of arms sales which are used to support terrorism and dictatorial governments;

support the humanitarian organizations that are working on the ground;

further development policies in the countries of origin;

fulfill their promises of refuge;

promote intercultural, interfaith and inter-ethnic dialogue.

11. The Congress wants to express its solidarity with oppressed and neglected peoples like the Kurds, the Palestinians, and the Saharans, who are being denied their right to independence and subjected to all sorts of indignities. All of them have numerous migrants, refugees, and displaced persons.

12. We who have participated in this Theology Congress commit ourselves to:

fight against the ideology and the economic system that are causing the exclusion of millions of people;

denounce the systematic violation of the human rights of "people in movement" by the governments;

Sunday, September 25, 2016

That women of all times have left an unmistakable and indelible mark on history beyond recognition in their returns, is beyond any doubt, and today, increasingly, the feminine is emerging in the international cultural scene. It's the case for Teresa Forcades, a feminist theologian among the most original and trendy of the Catholic world in talking about burning issues such as the role of women, divorce, abortion, and homosexuality which she addresses from a theological point of view.

A Benedictine nun from Catalonia, she has been out of the cloister for a year, with Vatican dispensation, to also deal with politics, to support the independence of Catalonia with the movement she founded, "Procés Constituent." Actually, she feels she is a revolutionary against violence, in sustaining the concept that society should be changed radically and recognizing the work of feminist pioneers, strenuous fighters for their rights in society and in the Church.

Teresa Forcades talks about this in her interview-book, "SIAMO TUTTI DIVERSI! Per una teologia queer" ["WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT!: For a queer theology"], by Cristina Guarnieri and Roberta Trucco (Castelvecchi, 2016), which will be launched on October 3rd at Casa Internazionale delle Donne in Rome at 7:30 p.m. Present at the event will be theologian Marinella Perroni, former president of the Coordinamento delle Teologhe italiane [Association of Italian Women Theologians], whom I have asked for a personal reflection about this publication.

Photo: Theologians Teresa Forcades (L) and Marinella Perroni (R)

Can you explain the origin and meaning of "for a queer theology"?

In reality it's not easy, because it's a term that, wishing to embrace the maximum of diversity, has in itself the impossibility to be confined in one definition. I would say that the application of queer theory, that is, an anthropological and social perspective able to explain sexuality and gender differences critically, to theology leads to deepening and at the same time making more specific the human reality with ever greater respect for all differences. This implies attention to the human subject, a partner in the revelation of God and in the relationship with God, considered from their real sexual diversity, no longer forced, that is, into stereotypical male-female duality, but open to a diversity of inclinations (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender). It is, basically, an application of the criteria of liberation theology, a liberation understood as a promise from God and as a practice of freedom before God, for all individual human subjects understood and respected based on their most profound particular traits, those related to sexual development.

How and when did you meet Teresa Forcades? Can you briefly outline the spiritual and human profile of this singular Benedictine nun?

I don't really remember exactly. I got to visit her monastery of San Benet in Montserrat, near Barcelona, several times. But, above all, I've shared with her the engagement in ESWTR (European Society of Women in Theological Research), the association of European women involved in various capacities in theological research.

In her book "La teologia femminista nella storia" ["Feminist theology in history"], Teresa Forcades speaks of women's right to self-determination in general, the role of women in the Catholic world, and her thoughts on gender are expressed...

Teresa is capable of neat and clear judgments, but she can accompany them with careful nuancing. It would do injustice to her thought, which ranges competently in two major areas of knowledge -- medicine and theology -- and which always moves in a politically inflected horizon, if it were reduced to a few lines. With her, you have to engage and debate. You may not agree, but from the encounter with her, one always comes out with an increased desire to move forward in reflection. Even with respect to the feminism-(Catholic) Church relationship, Teresa has always tried to open roads, never close them. The fact that sometimes she has found herself a bit farther ahead a bit earlier than others, is only because she intuits the roads along which our future will pass.

In your opinion, how fair is Teresa Forcades' analysis of feminist theology in relation to still unresolved matters, whether within the Church or in the contemporary political debate?

What could be fairer today than openly confronting -- within the Church and theology too -- the problems that are crucial for a truly human quality of our lives? There's no need to lock Teresa Forcades in her answers, as debatable as those of any woman (or any man) who today tries to remain faithful to the gospel in a Church that is so hard to open up to the complexity of the human being. Rather, there is a need to be challenged by her questions and share with her the desire to always seek new answers.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Pope Francis has named a commission to analyze whether women should have access to the diaconate, as already occurs with single and married men. In the hierarchy, the deacon occupies a grade below the priesthood. He can preside at marriages and baptize, but he can't celebrate Mass. There were women deacons in the early Church.

In many countries, including in Brazil, there are already women religious who, authorized by the local bishop, preside at marriages and celebrate baptisms, although they aren't women deacons.

Francis is very clever. Instead of imploding the building with dynamite, he prefers to demolish it brick by brick. It's what he's doing by fiddling around with issues that, for centuries, have been frozen by the taboos surrounding traditional Catholic doctrine -- remarriages, access of the divorced to the sacraments, homosexuality, mandatory celibacy, corruption in the Roman Curia, strict punishment for pedophiles, etc.

There is no biblical basis for excluding women from the priesthood or even from the right to be bishops and popes. The big obstacle is the patriarchal culture that was predominant in the early centuries of Christianity and is still in vogue in the Catholic Church.

Matthew points out five women in Jesus' genealogical tree: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Mary, and, implicitly, Solomon's mother, the one "who was the wife of Uriah." It isn't quite an ancestry of which any of us would be proud.

A widow, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law and beget a son of the same blood as her late husband. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho. Ruth, David's great-grandmother, was a Moabite, i.e. a pagan in the eyes of the Hebrews. The one "who was the wife of Uriah," Bathsheba, was seduced by David while her husband was at war. And Mary, mother of Jesus, didn't escape others' suspicions either because she appeared pregnant even before she married Joseph. As you see, the Son of God entered human history through the back door.

Jesus was accompanied by the Twelve and some women: Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's procurator, Susanna, "and several others," says Luke (8:1). Therefore, Jesus wasn't a chauvinist at all. And in Bethany, he used to frequent the home of his friends Martha and Mary, Lazarus' sisters.

The first apostle was a woman: the Samaritan who dialogues with Jesus by the side of Jacob's well and then goes out to proclaim that she has met the Messiah. The first witness to the resurrection was Mary Magdalene. And by healing Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus showed that the priesthood and celibacy are not associated. Peter was married and that didn't keep him from being chosen as the first Pope.

Misogyny is, in the Catholic Church, an unjustifiable syndrome, especially when we consider that in rural communities and those on the urban outskirts, it's mainly women who lead the pastoral activity. Today, fortunately, a number of married women, including in Brazil, hold the title of doctor in theology.

The theology of my confrere Thomas Aquinas dates from the thirteenth century and still serves as the foundation for official Catholic doctrine. Today it requires updating, like on the aspect of women, considered to be ontologically inferior beings to men. Which is why the freed slave can be a priest, but not women.

There is not one case in the gospels where Jesus repudiated a woman -- as he did with Herod Antipas -- or uttered curses upon them, as he did with the scribes and Pharisees. With them, he showed himself merciful, warm, and affectionate, and he extolled their faith and love.

The time has come for the Church to assume its feminine side and open all of its ministries to women. In the end, half of humanity are women. And the other half are children of women.

Frei Betto is a writer, author of "Um homem chamado Jesus" ("A man called Jesus" -- Rocco), among other books.

"After intense prayer and mature reflection, His Holiness has decided to institute the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women," the Holy See press room announced. Thus he fulfilled what he had offered to the International Union of Superiors General, who made the proposal to him. What does this mean and what does it imply? Will it be a path for women to be able to be ordained priests?

In the first centuries of the Church there were women deacons. Saint Paul mentions one: "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. Receive her well, as should be done among Christians and holy brothers and sisters, and help her in everything she needs, since many are in debt to her, and I as well." (Rom 16:1-2)

What did they do? As the baptism of adults by immersion was the custom and they would go down into the water without any clothes to dress in a white tunic afterwards, it wasn't proper for this celebration to be performed by the bishop, the priests, or the male deacons, therefore women deacons were established to baptize the women. Also, when there were complaints from the wives that their husbands had hit them, the women deacons would have to check the women's bodies to prove the wounds and bruises. It wasn't prudent for the men to make such a review. Moreover, it was customary to anoint the sick on the parts of their body that were hurting. It was appropriate for such service to be given by the women. Over time, these customs changed and women deacons disappeared. There is no evidence that they received sacramental ordination, but it was a service that they gave in the community.

THINKING

Is it appropriate for them to be instituted again today? Before Vatican Council II (1962-65), the diaconate was only for celibate men being prepared for the priesthood. The Council re-established the permanent diaconate "not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service" (LG 29), to provide some services such as administering baptism, assisting at weddings, proclaiming the Gospel and preaching at Mass, giving the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament, celebrating the funerals of the dead, giving various blessings. This diaconate was conferred on married men and there are currently thousands throughout the Church. They don't celebrate Mass or hear confessions or anoint the sick sacramentally. Whether the diaconate can also be conferred upon women is being studied.

What could they do? The same thing as male deacons. However, for these celebrations you don't need women deacons. The bishop can authorize women catechists, the wives of permanent deacons, nuns, and other adequately prepared women to perform them. In compliance with the norms of the Church, I have delegated two indigenous women to baptize and preside at marriages in remote places where the presence of a priest is rare and there are no male deacons.

The potential women deacons getting to be ordained priests is completely excluded. That has been finalized since 1994 by Pope John Paul II: "Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 4).

ACTING

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the Pope to decide what is most appropriate. Meanwhile, let us continue giving women their rightful place in the Church and in society.

Msgr. Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel is Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico

"The messenger of Yhwh appeared (to the shepherd named Moses) in a flame blazing from the middle of a bush (thicket, briar, brush) (Ex. 3:2-3).

God calls out from the fire: Moses, Moses.

And Moses: Here I am.

God says: Do not come near. Remove the sandals from your feet, for this land is holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Yhwh says: Yes, I see the oppression of my people in Egypt, I have heard their cries against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. Now, the outcry of the children of Israel has reached me, I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them.

Now go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt." (v. 5-10).

Here, at Fronteiras, the same God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses called Helder Camara by name.

"Helder, Helder."
"Here I am."

"Take off your sandals, because Fronteiras is hallowed ground. I have seen clearly the oppression of my people in the Northeast, I have heard their cries about the authorities, yes, I know their sorrows. Now, the cry of the children in the Northeast has come to me, I have seen the oppression caused by the highest authorities of the land."

Even today, these words resonate through the Church of Fronteiras, which is sacred territory. For over thirty years (between 1968 and 1999) there lived a man who knew how to listen to the words. God's call is still burning for those who have the eyes of Helder Camara, the ears of Helder Camara, the heart of Helder Camara.

Rome 1965

The big picture

In 1965, about 2,500 Catholic bishops are gathered in the Vatican, in the ample wealthy spaces of St. Peter's Basilica. They are of the most varied tendencies. There are a majority who don't know what they're doing in Rome. I know of a bishop who, during the intervals between sessions in the Basilica and during meal times (all for free), played chess with a colleague. Others must have played cards or were reading something. Anyway, most weren't surprised to be in the opulence of the Vatican and even thought it fitting for their episcopal dignity.

I will describe in brief lines the various tendencies that manifested themselves among the bishops, based on the book O Pacto das Catacumbas ["The Pact of the Catacombs"] by José Oscar Beozzo, that has just been released by Edições Paulinas.

The main group of bishops on the right enjoys the (implicit) sympathies of the Roman Curia and the major European media, controlled by political and economic forces that prefer a conservative Church. It's called the Coetus Internationalis Patrum (CIP: International Group of Fathers), which has as its reference point the French bishop Marcel Lefebvre and as more visible leadership, the Brazilian bishop Geraldo Sigaud. According to Beozzo, "Coetus" brings together more or less 300 Council fathers, but their power is much greater.

It's more difficult to name the left wing movements. Names appear of charismatic leaders who so to speak symbolize certain positions. Such as the Concilium journal group with Yves Congar, the "Ecumenical" group with Cardinal Bea, the "joys and hopes" group (which gave its name to the conciliar document Gaudium et Spes) with François Houtart, the "Opus Angeli" group (acting out of "Domus Mariae") with Helder Camara, and so on. Names like Dell'Acqua, Capovilla, Colombo, Suenens, Lercaro, Liénart and Doepfer also coalesce positions. These names give some context to the currents, blocs, and groups which often overlap, mingle, combine and, at times, coalesce.

But there's one group that stands out for the firmness of its position and depth of its questioning -- the "Church of the Poor." It doesn't appear in high profile in the history of the Council because it operates discreetly, almost timidly. Only in the third session, in November 1964, did it publicly propose two documents that received the support of more than 500 Council fathers -- "Simplicity and Gospel Poverty" and "That the evangelization of the poor be given first place in our [Episcopal] Ministry." Beozzo speaks here of the establishment of a "conciliar network," that is, a link that pervades the various segments of the episcopal universe meeting in Rome and that consists basically of support, at least formally, given to the words of Pope John XXIII in a radio address before the opening of the Council (September 11, 1962): the Church must be "in particular the Church of the poor." With those words, the term "the poor" gains an epistemological status which it preserves for decades in Church circles, mainly in Latin America. In the "Church of the Poor" group, the name that most stands out is that of the French worker-priest Paul Gauthier, founder of "Companions of Jesus the Carpenter" in Nazareth. In Rome, the meetings of that group usually took place in Fr. Gauthier's apartment or at the Belgian College.

What unites the "Church of the Poor" bishops is a common affection, a shared sensibility. In an ecclesiastical Rome made of power symbols, i.e. at the Vatican, these bishops don't feel good. The image of the "catacombs" comes up, which suggests an "underground" persecuted Church.

Three weeks before the conclusion of the Council, on November 16, 1965, some members of the "Church of the Poor" gathered in the catacomb of Saint Domitilla in Rome. Two months earlier, on September 12, Pope Paul VI was in the Saint Domitilla catacomb, showing symbolic support for the idea of a "Church of the catacombs." But it becomes something specific with the concelebrated Mass, presided by Msgr. Himmer, bishop of Tournai in Belgium. The bishops present signed the so-called "Pact of the Catacombs" with one another, a lifelong commitment "to proclaim good news to the poor." All very discretely, almost clandestinely. Just three weeks later, on the day of the closing of the Council (December 8, 1965), the French newspaper Le Monde publishes, without much emphasis, a note about "a group of anonymous bishops who have committed themselves to giving external witness to a life of strict poverty." The note is signed by journalist Henri Fesquet, observer of the Council on behalf of said newspaper.

Years later, through research conducted among the papers of Bishop Himmer, we have managed to recover the list of participants, as Beozzo reveals in a note found on the Internet. There are 39 signatories, almost all bishops. There are a few priests (such as Father Luiz Gonzaga, consecrated bishop a few days later, and Paul Gauthier). The presence of a woman is recorded, Marie Thérèse Lescaze, a French Carmelite residing in Palestine, a participant in the group surrounding Father Gauthier. Eight Brazilian bishops sign the document (some at the time, others later): Antonio Fragoso of Crateús, EC, Francisco Austregésilo Mesquita Filho of Afogados da Ingazeira, PE, João Batista da Mota e Albuquerque, Archbishop of Vitoria, ES, Luiz Gonzaga Fernandes (who is to be consecrated auxiliary bishop of Vitória some days later) Jorge Marcos de Oliveira of Santo André, SP, Helder Camara of Recife, PE, Henry Golland Trindade, Archbishop of Botucatu, SP, José Maria Pires, Archbishop of Paraíba, PB. Helder was not present at the time, although Beozzo writes that he was the author of the text, as Beozzo stresses. In the nineties, it was mainly bishops José Maria Pires, Valdir Calheiros, Antônio Fragoso and Adriano Hipólito who remembered the Pact.

Ten signed from other countries in Latin America: Manuel Larraín of Talca in Chile, Marcos Gregorio McGrath of Panama (Diocese of Santiago de Veraguas), Leonidas Proaño of Riobamba, Ecuador, Alberto Devoto of Goya, Argentina, Vicente Faustino Zazpe and Enrique Angelelli, bishop of Rioja assassinated by the military government, from Argentina, Juan José Iriarte of Reconquista, Argentina, Alfredo Viola, bishop of Salto, Uruguay, and his auxiliary, Marcelo Mendiharat, Tulio Botero Salazar, archbishop of Medellín and his auxiliary, [Miguel Antonio Medina] Medina, from Colombia. From Italy, Luigi Betazzi, auxiliary at that time to Cardinal Lercaro in Bologna, signed. From France there are the following names: Guy Marie Riobé, bishop of Orleans, Gérard Huyghe of Arras, and Adrien Gand, auxiliary bishop to Cardinal Liénart in Lille.

In Msgr. Himmer's papers other names yet appear, from different countries: Georges Mercier, bishop of Laghouat in the Sahara, [Maximos] Hakim, Melkite bishop of Nazareth, [Grégoire] Haddad, Melkite auxiliary bishop of Beirut, Gérard-Marie Coderre, bishop of Saint-Jean-de-Québec in Canada, Rafael Gonzalez Moralejo, auxiliary of Valencia in Spain, Julius Angerhausen, auxiliary of Essen in Germany, [Anibal] Muñoz Duque of Pamplona, Raúl Zambrano of Facatativá and Angelo Cuniberti, apostolic vicar of Florence. From Africa, Bernard Yago, archbishop of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, Joseph Blomjous, bishop of Mwanza in Tanzania, signed; from Asia, Charles Joseph van Melckebeke, Belgian bishop of Ningxia in China, expelled and living in Singapore. There were also bishops from Vietnam and Indonesia.

The symbols of the Pact, such as exchanging the "jewel ring" for the simple "fisherman's ring", simplifying liturgical vestments and abandoning the traditional pompous style, meant a very specific lifetime commitment in terms of housing (abandoning the episcopal palace), transportation (simple automobiles), personal wealth (not having personal money in the bank). Finally, the bishops united by the Pact committed themselves to living as the common people lived in the country where they were residing.

All this happened very discretely, almost clandestinely, which shows the strong resistance in the episcopal body in general to the idea of a "Church of the poor." Today the Pact is still influencing the style of the Catholic episcopate. People are more attentive to the way in which the bishop behaves, beyond words and speeches. This is a definite gain, and in this sense we can say that the Pact is the most important event that occurred within the Second Vatican Council.

How Helder Câmara perceives this scene

Since before the Council, Helder Câmara, Auxiliary Bishop of Rio de Janeiro, stands out. In a questionnaire sent to all the bishops by the Vatican, most bishops say that the big problem in the world is the opposition between capitalism and Communism, between the United States and the Soviet Union, between religion and secularism and even atheism. The big enemy is atheist Communism. Helder's response is entirely different: the big problem is that two-thirds of humanity live in poverty, have problems of hunger, endemic disease, housing. It should be said in so many words that Helder Câmara is one of the very few men in the Council who have "vision", as the theologian Congar wrote. Helder's Circular Letters begin with the following words: "The Council is going to be very difficult." That says it all.

Here I make a note: You may be surprised that I don't use the term "Dom" when talking about Helder Camara. In this, I am following point no. 5 of the Pact of the Catacombs, which reads, "We refuse to be called in speech or writing by names or titles that signify grandeur and power (Your Eminence, Your Excellency, Monsignor ...). We prefer to be called by the gospel name "Father". See Mt 20:25-28, 23:6-11, Jn 13:12-15." Or simply "brother."

I consulted Book 3 of Volume 1 of the Letters and some topics caught my attention:

1. In the Circular Letter of November 16-17, 1965, written on the eve right after the signing of the Pact, there is nothing about the Pact of the Catacombs. Only sparse references to "concelebrations" appear. It is that Helder has other commitments at the time; he isn't in the Saint Domitilla Catacomb then.

2. Only more than ten days later, in the Letters of 11/29-30 and 12/01-02 (Letters I, 3, 301 and 304) are the 13 points of the Pact talked about.

3. In general, the information is somewhat divergent. On p. 301, it is written that all 2,500 Council fathers received a mimeographed sheet about the poverty group, drafted at the house of Père Paul Gauthier. It seems that 500 reacted positively (testimony of Antônio Fragoso), but we don't know what the specific result of this was in those bishops' lives upon returning to their dioceses. But others reacted negatively. On p. 322, Helder writes that some bishops made a "mockery" of the papal gesture in exchanging the diamond ring for the "fisherman's ring." This shows that there was also resistance to the idea of episcopal poverty.

4. On p.322 it is written that, during the last days of the Council, Helder forwarded the text of the Pact to the pope.

The impression one is left with from reading these letters is that the bishop, in the last weeks of the Council, was involved in many things. He would like to know if the Pope accepts the three strong documents that he has written at the end of the Council. That's what occupies Helder's mind during the last weeks of the event.

What is very clear is that Helder shows aversion to Roman pomp. For him, the Vatican is a papal court, the most impressive court in existence in the whole Western world. There are mind-blowing images scattered throughout the pages of the Circular Letters. The bishop sees Emperor Constantine (4th century) crossing St. Peter's Basilica on a horse at full gallop. In another vision, the pope throws the tiara into the Tiber and walks berserk through the streets of Rome, where he meets prostitutes and thieves. He imagines the Pope giving the Vatican to an institution (UNESCO?) specialized in managing museums and going to live in an apartment in Rome. He dispenses with ambassadors at the Vatican and the Vatican nuncios. He dispenses with the Vatican. Thus he can quickly undertake the reform of the Roman papal Curia (the papal court).

I strongly advise reading these circulars, because each one brings a surprise. When you least expect it, an absolutely brilliant sentence appears, in many different senses. For example, his assessment -- historically impecable -- of the 4th century Council of Nicaea (I, 3, 265), or when he complains that with cardinals it is "humanly impossible" to work (I, 3, 268), or when he writes that quoting texts from Isaiah is very beautiful, but the people don't understand words like Zion, Israel etc. and that you need to say things with words that people understand. Sparks of an exceptional spirit that appear here and there in the Letters.

Recife 1968

Firstly, there is the São José dos Manguinhos Episcopal Palace on Avenida Rui Barbosa, a manor built by Viscount of Loyo, Recife, a successful Recife merchant in the 19th century (Dom Pedro II handed out the titles of Earl, Baron, and Viscount left and right to better control his immense empire), with many mango trees. There is, next door, the São José dos Manguinhos Church, as there usually is in rich people's manors. In the early 20th century, the Archdiocese acquires the manor and transforms it into an episcopal residence. Everything in the traditional ecclesiastical style.

There is, secondly, more towards the historic centre of the city, the Church of Nossa Senhora da Assunção das Fronteiras, on the edge of an estate granted by the King of Portugal in 1656 to the mestizo soldier Henrique Dias, a fighter alongside the Portuguese in the war against the Dutch that resulted in the restoration of Pernambuco. Emperor Pedro II visited the site in 1859 and gave it the title of Imperial Chapel. The Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife regained this Chapel after the war of the guilds. But, in 1968, that's all in the past. The Fronteiras Church serves as a chapel for women religious and has, like all chapels, a sacristy and a base for the chaplain.

The scenic contrast between Manguinhos and Fronteiras is reminiscent of the contrast between the Vatican and the Catacombs. Helder leaves the Manguinhos "latifundio" to go live "in my house", in Fronteiras.

Reading the Circular Letters of the year 1968 was a surprise for me. Even knowing the works of Helder Camara because of having worked with him for over 16 years (between 1964 and 1980), reading the Circular Letters was a surprise to me. What wealth! So many new things!

Here I make one more observation. I appreciate the invitation of you who gave me the opportunity to get into these circulars. Thank you especially to the compilers, transcribers and editors of the Letters: Luis Carlos Marques and Roberto de Araújo Faria (vol. I), Zildo Rocha (vols. II, III, IV) and Daniel Sigal (vols. III and IV), who have done and continue to do work of inestimable value.

The circulars of the year 1968 are found in Books 1 and 2 of Volume IV. It's the year of the move from the Manguinhos Palace to the sacristy. A move that not only has consequences for the bishop's personal life, but also for the life of the Archdiocese.

In personal terms, Helder dispenses with the private car, the private secretary, ready meals on time, the Manguinhos cook. Henceforth, his menu is precarious. In the morning, the Fronteiras Sisters fix him breakfast. At noon, he eats lunch at the Colégio das Damas on Avenida Rui Barbosa, and at night he's on his own. His bedroom includes a bed and a chair. He comments: "I live with two dead and a Living One (Jesus in the tabernacle). There is a lounge to receive people and write his circulars by night. It has a round table, three chairs and, in the back, a stretched out hammock. On the walls, a few souvenirs of trips and some strong texts.

1. In the January 5 to 6, 1968 circular (no. 344), Helder shows himself to be enthusiastic about the move (p. 295), planned for the day of Saint Sebastian (1/21), which doesn't happen because of the failure to remove two graves and arrangements behind the altar (p. 317). He knows that this move is leading to a remodeling of the functions of some buildings of the Archdiocese. The bishop's dream is that both Manguinhos (which he calls "the latifundio", "too much of a house for a single tiny bishop", see p. 383) and the old episcopal palace in Olinda will hereinafter be referred to as "Houses of the People". Camaragibe, "the aircraft carrier" (p. 312), would be sold and the financial fund thus created would be used "in large part for a low-income housing scheme."

But his aides don't have such lofty ideas. In fact, the bishop's plans to move involve a complex accommodation of buildings. There is also, at the same time, the decision that touches the lives of seminarians. From now on, the program is that they live in "small communities among the people." All this messes with Manguinhos, the episcopal Palace in Olinda, the Olinda seminary, the building on Rua do Jiriquiti, Camaragibe. While the aides are pondering the real possibilities, Helder continues speaking of Houses of the People. He dreams of giving homes to shelter homeless people. Why maintain two throne rooms at the Manguinhos "latifundio" while homeless people are sleeping on the veranda? The bishop is saddened when his aides are forced to find a guard to monitor the lives of those who sleep on the veranda; he's afraid that this guard will come to use violence and might come to shoot at someone.

2. Ten days later, in Circular 348 (1/16-17/68), he writes that the core team of the seminary now lives "on high" (the first floor) of the House of the People, with some teachers, while the colonial Seminary of Olinda has turned into a Training Center for Leaders for Northeast II (Eugênio Sales style). What complicates everything is that Rome doesn't like the idea of seminarians living "among the people." Cardinal Garrone writes a letter to that effect and sends Monsignor Pavarello to Recife to verify the situation "in loco." This Monsignor stays a long time and reaps much information.

3. On the night of March 13 to 14 (Circular 375) comes the definitive news: when the day breaks, I'm moving to Fronteiras. This is a "complete sign": "selling Manguinhos and investing the money for the advancement of God's children dehumanized by destitution." In the same letter appears a first description of the new dwelling with an assessment of what the bishop likes most -- doors without locks, windows without bars, a small entryway through the garden, "under construction", the wooden bed (the Manguinhos one was gilded bronze), the company, at bedtime, of two dead (tombs) and a Living One (tabernacle).

4. On the 14th day of March of 1968, at 19 hours, Helder enters the new house (p. 40). From now on, his daily routes change: from Fronteiras to Manguinhos, from Manguinhos to Damas (on the same avenue, for lunch), from Damas back to Manguinhos and at the end of the day from Manguinhos to Fronteiras. His transportation depends on taxis, but in reality there is no taxi driver who wants to charge him for the trip (p. 52). This information is repeated on 5/22-23/68.

5. Fifteen days later, in the 3/27-28/68 circular (IV, 1, 59) comes a new proof that the bishop likes the new house: in the bedroom, the little window with a bolt that shows where the Tabernacle is (where the Living One dwells), the embrasure above that "leaves a patch of sky to view, like a beautiful little star" (later he points out that embrasure to me and says "how easy it is to throw a bomb through there"), the window without bars that gives on another garden, behind the living room, the round table where he can write his circulars during the evenings, the roses in the garden, the three thermos bottles (hot tea, cold drinks, water) that the sisters leave ready, as well as glass jars with cookies, etc. Anyway, Helder likes the new abode. This is very clear.

In all this, the bishop follows to the letter the first commitment of the Pact of the Catacombs: "Regarding housing, food and means of transportation and everything concerning these things, we will seek to live in accordance with the ordinary manner of our people (Mt 5:3, 6:33f, 8-20)." For me, he is one of those following with greatest fidelity the commitments made in the Pact, although comparative data is needed to substantiate this opinion. We have only partial information (from Antônio Fragoso, José Maria Pires, Valdir Calheiros, etc.).

Today we are on hallowed ground

Today we are here at Fronteiras, on hallowed ground, 50 years after the Pact of the Catacombs in Rome and 47 years after Bishop Helder Camara moved here. We feel responsibility, because many among us, like myself personally, have been eyewitnesses to what I have just related through reading the circulars. One way or another, the words of John's Gospel apply to us:

He came as a witness,
to bear witness to the light (Jn 1:7)

Helder Camara is for us like the one sent by God in the prologue of the Gospel of John. He bore witness to the light and we must bear witness too, as the Gospel itself says:

And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the beginning (Jn 15:27).

This is the evidence of one who saw it -- true evidence (Jn. 19:35).

Our meeting here is not just a commemoration, it's a responsibility. We have to "bear witness" these days about what happened here between 1968 and 1999, and is still going on in our lives. From now on, it's not about the physical person of Helder Câmara, but his spirit that is still alive and pervades the place where we are. What can we do?

1. I will explain through history. The Vatican is not the Catacomb and Manguinhos is not Fronteiras. What does the Vatican symbolize? Historically there is no doubt: the Vatican symbolizes the misuse of money from the poor. Pilgrims, over many centuries, have deposited huge sums of money in the so-called tombs of Peter and Paul in Rome. This has been, until today, the base of the Vatican -- not just of the splendid palaces, but also the vast court of monsignors, eminences, the purple-clad and mitred. Much of this wealth is being shamefully diverted in many cases, as recent facts have proven. What does Manguinhos symbolize? Opulence surrounded by poverty, honorific titles, arrogance. I don't know of any scandals linked to Manguinhos, but even so I think it is a counter-sign in gospel terms, a bishop residing in a palace.

What was a catacomb, historically? It was a worthy tomb for all slaves, whether Christians or not. That was the policy of the managers of the catacombs like Calixto, who came to be elected pope in the 3rd century. To opt for the Catacomb is to opt for a lifestyle that gives a chance to all, above any cloister. You understand that I'm talking about something practical. When Helder opted for Fronteiras, he really chose a way of life that doesn't fit in with a palace, honor, prestige, but with a commitment to the weakest of society.

2. Of course, everything depends on the specific conditions of our lives. We are not bishops or priests. Perhaps we aren't Catholic either and yet we are witnesses of Helder Câmara and the Pact of the Catacombs. The symbolism is clear; it means a way of living and acting that stands out from a lifestyle oriented towards profit and accumulation of money. Each and every one of us can do something. There is no rule that applies to all. Each and every one of us must see what we can do. The bishops left the palace, some got around without a private car (as Helder did), sometimes they dispensed with their cook (as Helder did), they renounced honors and personal bank accounts. And we, what do we do in practical life?

It's not easy to live out the Pact of the Catacombs today. Two things, I think, can help us: (1) spirituality; (2) participation in a group of Christian inspiration.

1. Spirituality

When Volume I, 1 of the Circulares was launched, Zildo Rocha gave a beautiful address titled "The role of the vigil in the spirituality of Dom Helder." In it, Zildo asserted that all of Helder's days rested on two points -- the Mass and the vigil. Two moments that put the bishop's life "in a perspective of eternity" and put us in the face of God. José Comblin said the same thing here in this place in 2001: Helder is first and foremost a mystic. Reading the circulars has convinced me of the same. Each letter begins with a spiritual reflection. I don't know if he's commenting on past liturgy or the next day's liturgy, I didn't check that. But I have noticed that, for him, spirituality comes first. Without talking with his father God, his brother Jesus, his guardian angel Joseph, Helder would not have endured so many defeats, so much failure. His day was an offshoot of the Mass and the vigil.

I see Helder entering the synagogue in Nazareth and unrolling the text of Isaiah, as is reported in Chapter 4 of the Gospel of Luke:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
Through Him I have been designated (the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Chosen One) to proclaim good news to the poor.
Sent by Him, I declare freedom to the prisoners,
To the blind that they will see again,
To the oppressed that they will be forgiven. (see Isaiah 61:1-2 and 58:6)

When Jesus says he's with the "poor in spirit" (Mt 5:3), he's refering to Isaiah 57:15:

I am with the defeated
The humiliated spirits
I revive the spirit of the humble
I revive the heart of the defeated.

That is the biblical spirituality of Helder Camara, which gave him the strength to bear an episcopate full of problems with the political dictatorship (one priest dead, others exiled) and at the same time with the Vatican (a dubious Pope Paul VI, irresolute colleagues in the episcopate).

In the Fronteiras living room, I read the following framed message:

When the night is darkest
Closer is the dawn.

2. Participation in a group of Christian inspiration

Psychology teaches that without a group, lasting action cannot be sustained. That's what Helder experiences after the sensational success of his journeys in the first part of the 1970s. Everywhere massive enthusiasm at the time. Then nothing. It was hard for a man of stage and microphone, the center of the scene and large gatherings, to realize that his ideas about unification of the universities around ideas of liberation, etc. were coming to nothing, just as Vatican II in many respects came to nothing. "How hard it is to break structures," he complained. It was in such disillusionment that Helder discovered the strength of minorities, of the "Abrahamic" minorities. This is a happy expression because it encompasses many movements -- in addition to Christianity, it goes to Judaism and Islam, and even beyond. Physical groups (such as Igreja Nueva ["New Church"]) or virtual groups, such as those that are forming around Alder Calado in Paraiba, Adital in Ceará, Somos Iglesia in Chile, Amerindia, and many others, which are getting bigger and bigger.

Also a word about groups formed by women. We must not forget that we owe the Circular Letters to the fact that Helder, since his days in Rio de Janeiro, always related to his "Mecejana family", a group of women such as Cecilia Monteiro [his secretary], Marina Bandeira [member of the CNBB National Justice and Peace Commission and Camara's collaborator] and others. To this day, the clerical Church has been skidding because it doesn't understand the power of women, which has manifested itself so clearly by the worldwide acceptance of birth control pills since 1961. The Synod which was held in October went nowhere because the Synod Fathers still don't understand the power of women, or rather, they don't understand that women also reveal God. If they, since 1962, haven't listened to the priests anymore, it's because something is wrong with the priests' teaching. The popes are distressed, but they should learn from Helder Camara who showed that women help free the Church from the pope.

To conclude, I repeat what I said at the beginning: Fronteiras is not a museum, it's not just a place of memory. Fronteiras is the burning bush. Here burns the flame that turned Moses into a liberator of his people and Helder Camara into a bishop on the Borders, that is, without borders. It's not just a place to visit, it's a place that reminds us of the truly important things in our lives.

Translator's Note: Dom Helder Camara's circular letters have been published in their original Portuguese in multiple volumes by Companhia Editora de Pernambuco in Brazil. See the Instituto Dom Helder website for price and contact information for hard copies. The collections are also available electronically via Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes and Noble (Nook).

Thursday, June 30, 2016

On May 28th, Terese "Tee" Rigodanzo-Kasper was ordained a Roman Catholic woman priest in a ceremony presided by ARCWP Bishop Mary Collingwood. The ordination took place at the Tinley Park United Methodist Church. Rev. Rigodanzo-Kasper has a B.A. in Management from the College of St. Scholastica and has served in many administrative roles, primarily in companies and organizations providing home care and care for seniors. She has also worked for a parochial school. She is presently a QA analyst and software tester for two companies -- SpotJobs and Campayn. During her homily at the ordination, Bishop Collingwood also mentioned Rev. Rigodanzo-Kasper's volunteer work in music ministry in her parish and hospital pastoral care and said that she had "prepared herself for ordination through her studies in feminist and contemporary theology with certification through the People's Catholic Seminary", a program sponsored by ARCWP.

June 4, 2016 - Medellin, Colombia

Lucero Arias Manco's ordination day as a Roman Catholic woman priest was anything but uneventful. ARCWP Bishop Olga Lucia Alvarez had to leave very early to take the bus that wound its way slowly up the narrow streets to the hillside community where the ordination ceremony would take place because the faster cable cars weren't working. A young Afro-Colombian boy helped her find the correct stop. At the place, "El Paraíso" ("Heaven"), she was met by a neighborhood woman who gave her breakfast. The calm morning was brutally interrupted when a young neighbor, Johanny, who had been sent to fetch others to join them for breakfast, was stabbed in the neck before he could perform his mission. Everyone mobilized to provide first aid to Johanny and get him to the police station where he was then transported by ambulance to the hospital. Once the word came back that Johanny would be OK, the group proceeded with the ordination ceremony, which was attended by many from the local Christian base communities as well as representatives from the Old Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, among others.

Luis Eduardo, the master of ceremonies, explained the circular configuration of the community around the altar. "A symbol of Divinity, it puts us in the position of equals; no one is more important than anyone else." Following introductions, Bishop Alvarez explained the history of ARCWP and their presence that day before proceeding with the ordination rite. In her homily, Bishop Alvarez talked about Rev. Arias' background as a married mother of three and her work as an organizer in this peasant community beset by violence. She emphasized her training and experience in rural ministry and theology as well as in women's theology. Rev. Arias has also been active in working with youth groups, using her musical skills. Note that a series of videos from this ordination ceremony may be found here.June 11, 2016 - Northbrook, IL

Susan Vaickauski, a long-time parishioner at Our Lady of the Brook in Northbrook, says that she felt called to be a priest all her life since her childhood in Indiana. "I can't remember a time when it wasn't there," she told a reporter. "When you're young, you don't know what it is. You just know something inside you is different." On June 11th, that dream became a reality for Rev. Vaickauski who was ordained a priest through the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement in a ceremony at the United Methodist Church in Northbrook. Vaickauski, a retired secretary at Westmoor Elementary School who now devotes herself to a foundation she started to provide educational assistance to Kenya, The Fred Outa Foundation, became an RCWP deacon in 2015. Vaickauski has not decided where she will practice as a priest, but is thinking about working with the homeless, something she has already been doing as a volunteer. Meanwhile she says she will continue to attend her old parish with her husband who fully supports her choice, even though she will no longer be allowed to receive the sacraments there.

June 25, 2016 - Orinda, CA

On June 25th, Joanna Truelson was ordained a Roman Catholic womanpriest during a ceremony at the Orinda Community Church performed by RCWP Bishop Olivia Doko. Rev. Truelson is a former nurse. She has a Masters in Mental Health Nursing Administration and worked as a medical surgical pediatric coordinator for 24 years. After leaving the medical field, she became a realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors. Truelson also has a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Creation Spirituality, founded by Rev. Matthew Fox. She attended the Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley, and was ordained an Interfaith Spiritual Director in 2000. She presently ministers at the Namaste Catholic Community in Orinda, which holds liturgies on the second and fourth Saturday of the month at the Orinda Community Church. Being excommunicated from the mainstream Catholic Church is no big deal to Rev. Truelson because, as she says, the Church has already denied her the sacraments as a divorced and remarried Catholic.